Manufacturer&#39;s hat-rack



J. W. ETCHELLS.

MANUFACTURER'S HAT RACK.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 22, I920.

Patented Dec. 14, 1920..

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

t d "6 5441x244 oz 35 Meme, 7 3' /L/\ .I. W." ETCHELLS.

I MANUFACTURER'S HAT RACK.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 22, I920.

Patented Dec. 14,1920;

2 SHEETSSHEET 2- w ma /322W -UNITED STATES,

PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN w. E'roHEtLs, or BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

MANUFACTURERS HAT-RACK.

Application filed April 22,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that-I, Jenn IV. E'rormLLs, a subject of the King of Great Britain, and resident of the borough of Brooklyn, city and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Manufacturers at-Racks, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in hat racks for use by manufacturers in the processes of making hats, and the object of my invention is to provide means for conveniently holding the hats in the different stages of manufacture, without injury to the hats and so as to be readily removable therefrom by the workmen as the hats progress from step to step of their manufacture.

The particulars of my improvements I will now proceed to point out and explain, referring in so doing, to the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improved rack; Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1, looking down; Fig. 3 is a plan view, on an enlarged scale of one of the hat loops and its supports, and Fig. 4 is a side view of the same.

The same parts are designated by similar reference numerals in all the figures.

The frame of the rack embodies bases 1, 1, connected by a suitable bridge, as 2, and uprights 3, 3, connected by a top frame 1, 5;

This frame is of light but strong construction, which permits its being readily shifted about a'shop to facilitate the movement of the supported hats to the different points in the shop during their manufacture.

Between the hack uprights 3, 3 I insert transverse, dowel-like rods 6, 6 and in the forward uprights 3, I insert short sections 7, 7 of similar rods.

The hat supports 8, 8 consist of doubled and twisted wire, preferably of a suitable non-rusting metal, and form rests adapted to receive and hold hats in different stages of manufacture.

The forward ends of the doubled wire are bent down and then formed into loops 9, 9, adapted to loosely receive the ends of the rods 7, and of connecting rods 10, interposed between the ends of adjacent supports 8, and, preferably sti fened by a verti-' cal support or rod 11, which is shown as passing through them.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Dec. 14, 1920.

1920. Serial No. 375,667. 7

' Cotter pins 12 hold the loops on the ends of the rods 7 and 10." At the back of the support 8 the free ends 13, 13 of the doubled wire are bent around the rod 6 so as to grasp it firmly; and thus the support is held level and in a position to readily receive and hold a hat with its brim uppermost, separated from the other hats in the rack, and so that it may be readily withdrawn by slipping it out of the open end of the support 8.

Inthis manner I secure a light, substantial rack, which can easily be moved about the shop and which will hold each hat separately, so that it will not be injured by contact with other hats, and may be readily removed from the rack when desired, the sides of the support holding the hat up by the rim, close in to the body of the hat, and in such a way as not to distort or bend it unduly while so held.

In practice I form the main loops of the supports 8, 8, sufliciently wide to permit the usual sizes of hats to be slipped intothem between their forward ends without crowdmg. large to pass in and out easily, because of the loose engagement between the loops 9, 9 and the rods 7 and 10, the ends Ofthe sup port may be sprung outward, slightly, by the hat so that it willpass easily and freely into the loop of the support, the elasticity of the twisted wire permitting it to spring and yield, so as to let the hat slip in and out readily.

This makes it possible to use the rack in shop work without the necessity of an excessive amount of caution in putting the hats into it and taking them out; the elastic character of the supports giving a margin I of flexibility which is of decided advantage in practical use, and the hold of the supports on the hats being sufficient to prevent their slipping or falling out of the rack when it is' moved from place to place about the shop in the various steps of manufac ture.

Obviously, details of my improvements may be varied by the use ofmechanical equivalents and the like, without departing from the scope of my invention as claimed.

Having thus described my invention what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. The combination,in a shop hat rack, of a frame, and a looped hat support formed But if the hat should be a little too of a single piece of doubled-and twisted Wirehavingforward, frame engaging "elements each provided with'an integral closed loop, rear frame engaging elementsformed by the free ends of the wire, and an integral spacing element between said free ends.

2. The combination, in a shop hat rack, of a frame, and a plurality of looped, hat supports, each formed of a doubled and twisted wire having forward, frame engaging elements each provided with an integral, closed loop, rear frame engaging elements formed by the free ends of the wire, an integral spacing element between the said free ends, and a connecting element yieldably supported between the opposed for- Wardends of adjacent supports. a

' 3. The combination, in a shop hat rack,

' of a'frame comprising back uprights and a supports each formed of doubled and twisted wire, having forward, looped ends one there of being adapted .to receive a rod section and the other thereof to receive the end of a connecting rod, the free ends of the doubled wire of said supports forming rod engaglng means. V

.4. The combination, in a shop hat rack, of a frame comprising back uprights and a series of transverse rods, front uprights each provided with rod sections, and support connecting rods, of a plurality of looped, hat supports each formed of doubled and twisted wire, having depending, forward, looped ends one thereof being adapted to receive a rod section and the other thereof to receive the end of a connecting rod, and means for JOHN W. EToHELLs. 

